Autumn 2007 Newsletter

If you would like to view this newletter as a nicely formatted PDF click here:
http://www.kentwell.co.uk/system/files/Newsletter_dec07.pdf

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The Kentwell Meteorological Year
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Each year is to an extent defined by its weather. One year it may be excessively dry, the grass does not grow, the landscape becomes tired and drear, there’s no feed for the animals and the Gardens suffer. In such a year the Gardens lose their freshness, flowers are over almost as soon as they flower and there is a general lifelessness.

Another year, like this year, there seems to be endless rain, the ground becomes water-logged, flowers are beaten down or have their heads or petals knocked off and there’s standing water everywhere.

Yet I would not swap the English weather for that of anywhere else. Its very variety and lack of predictability is an essential part of its charm. I’m sure it contributes to the English being as they are. It creates that rich patchwork of a multiple of different greens that the air traveller returning to these shores cannot help but notice and which in its green and pleasant fields is England.

Whatever the weather, Kentwell looks a picture, faded but well lit when the sun beats down, richly imbued colours in the brickwork when it is wet.

However for business at Kentwell nowadays we have to be very fussy, weatherwise. Some years back the weather appeared to make no difference. Hot, sunny, rain, snow or hail seemed to come all the same to visitors. Today it is different. If it is too sunny, it seems would-be visitors hare off to the seaside and do so day after day in case on the morrow the weather turns. If it is wet, not too wet even - just wet, visitors stay away. For ‘wet’ it does not have to be raining - a mere hint of adverse weather in the weather forecast, accentuated by the weather forecaster’s uncalled for emphasis “If you’re going out take an umbrella or wear wellies” type of thing means rain to too many these days.

Where do people go on ‘wet’ days ? Do they stay at home or in their temporary lodgings ? go shopping ? or visit places, like museums, which offer no outside experience ? We know not because you cannot ask those who are not here. Worse than that, if it has been raining a lot many people lose a sense of proportion & plan their life on the basis that it will be raining tomorrow & next week too. Its been like that this year.

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Our Events
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Several events were almost washed out and visitors to them were scarce but the regular wet seemed to sap people’s initiative. Our Open Air Entertainments this year enjoyed barmy weather, almost perfect weather, on every one of eight nights, except for rain late on one night. Yet, these took part at a time of floods in the West Country and we were inundated (excuse the pun) with enquiries as to how we were affected by the floods. No amount of re-assurance that the floods were remote to East Anglia seem to provide the sought for comfort. Enough of the weather and its impact.

-------The Great Annual Re-Creation-------
Much affected by the wet. We used the section of Park for coaches on only 4 days out of 22 during the Great Annual Re-Creation. Most days we had a long line of coaches in the Avenue which stretched from the top threequarters of the way back to the road and getting these huge vehicles into that order was no easy task. We had the most interested response ever in 30 years from schools and children. Our chosen year was 1584 and we concentrated upon the first English settlement in the New World and the debate concerning the change in the Calendar provoked by Pope Gregory’s deletion of 10 days. Both seemed greatly to excite children’s interest which we fed well.

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Open Air Entertainments
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-------Spanfest-------
Our first foray into a Festival went well. It was a folk/rock Festival organized in conjunction with Steeleye Span who have been going as long as we have been at Kentwell. It was all very sedate with very little mess or litter left after it was over. The attend-ance was less than we hoped but that enabled us to do what we did well without major hiccoughs. It prepares us well for the future if we decide to repeat it. We had some of our Tudor activities going and it was rewarding to see how an audience who had little knowledge of our Re-Creations so much appreciated our Tudors.

-------Princess Ida-------
This performance was an absolute hoot and greatly enjoyed. I reckoned that it would win many prizes at the International Gilbert & Sullivan Festival a week later. I was right but the hatful of prizes they did win did not always go where I would have given them.

-------Glenn Miller 1940s Night-------
This remains one of our most popular concerts. Its the combination of the music, the jive & jitterbug instruction and the opportunity to dress up which seems to press all the right buttons. And the music - some of the most nostalgic tunes ever penned arranged in a way that evokes an era like nothing else can do.

-------Elvis Tribute-------
We timed our Elvis tribute closest to be closest weekend to the 30th anniversary of his death. Curiously little general publicity in advance but much from the anniversary on. One week later and we might have attracted a large audience. As it was a smaller audience enjoyed an outstandingly good performance on another perfect evening.

-------Last Night of the Proms-------
This was a triumph. For years I had wanted to put on a performance of Carmina Burana and at last we succeeded. An Orchestra of 60, a live wire conductor and a choir of 120 gave a memorable performance, as good as any I have heard. The pity was that there were not more to enjoy it. The lesson is that we need a name to draw an audience; and a name means a ‘celebrity’, i.e. someone seen regularly on TV.

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One Night Stands
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None took place at night but these were all here for just one day.

-------The Suffolk Horse Spectacular-------
another perfect day saw a good turnout and many Suffolk Punch horses. Alas, the date clashed with three other Shows so we did not break the record we set two years ago. None-theless it had a real old-fashioned country show feel.

-------The BBC’s Antiques Roadshow-------
attracted a huge crowd. We marvelled at the patience of people queuing for hours to register to join a queue of their choice (and perhaps another queue later). All done in blazing heat. The umbrellas to protect experts from rain shielded them from sunlight and curious contraptions made of blankets and plastic sheeting had to be contrived to enable the cameramen to film objects free from glare. The BBC hoped to squeeze two programmes out of the day but the range of objects did not permit this. Filming each object takes about half an hour, sometimes much longer, so there is very little spare material. This reduced when some of those filmed decide they did not want to appear on the screen after all and many of the most interesting objects were lost to filming because their owners arrived and were seen early but, understandably, could or would not wait the many hours before they could be filmed. Our Tudors did the stewarding (the best stewards ever said the BBC) and one reported that an expert wanted to film an interesting person with an equally interesting object. The expert was gone for over half an hour to arrange it. He returned to say an assistant would be over shortly. Despite sending prompts no-one arrived for over three hours and then only to say they would be back shortly but never returned. It was no wonder that having waited for the best part of 5 hours the owner gave up. The programme will be broadcast on 4 Feb.
What the introduction will show of Kentwell we know not, except that whenever the BBC film here, whatever the subject, they always want to show our Norfolk Horn sheep so the sheep may star yet again.

-------The NCCPG-------
their annual Autumn Plant sale - saw a high number of rare plant sale stalls but a rather disappointing public attendance.

These Events occurred in the same week and between them attracted some 5,000 visitors which is a lot for us.

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Hallowe’en
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We created an entirely new Event from scratch, this year. It was designed to balance our Ghost tours. These are intended to inform visitors, without in any way scaring them, of strange happenings that have been reported as having happened here over the centuries. However, a number of those who joined the Tours expressed disappointment that there were no scares during a Tour.
OK, we thought, and created Scaresville, with many interesting scares, and had an overwhelmingly positive response. We seemed to have pitched it about right. We scared enough to generate ear wrenching screams from those enthusiastic to be scared; at the same time we put the frighteners on some stout chaps who proclaimed they wouldn’t be frightened. It was interesting to see how often the men remembered their manners (!) and sent the women ahead !
We have an excellent site, perfect for devising scares of all sorts with dark woods, ancient buildings, narrow passages and underground areas. We are already planning to be even more beastly next year.

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Christmas
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We end the year, as we have done for over 30 years, with our Christmas Choral Concerts. For the last few years this has been joined by a Night at the Opera, favourite aria interspersed with seasonal offerings. This year, also, we are showing off our Christmas Decorations with Tours (with meals on some nights) that will tell the origins of Christmas and all we associate nowadays with that time of year.

See our christmas events here: http://www.kentwell.co.uk/ConcertsAndTheatre/Christmas

We hope everyone has a joyful a Christmas as we do round the 24ft Christmas Tree in our Great Hall.

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The Year Ahead
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What do we look forward to most next year ? We can only dream but a halt or even a slowdown in the never ending Regulations which bedevil every part of our emdeavours. Our wish for the New Year is a Government which understands what real life is like and applies some commonsense to all its proposals. That though is asking for the Moon.